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Rise of multi-authored papers in economics: Demise of the ‘lone star’ and why?

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  • Lukas Kuld

    (Trinity College Dublin)

  • John O’Hagan

    (Trinity College Dublin)

Abstract

This paper builds on previous work by reviewing the key literature relating to the rise in co-authorship in economics and by presenting further new evidence on several features of co-authorship in articles in economic journals. The empirical analysis draws on around 175,000 articles in the top 255 journals, over the period 1996–2014. The rises in quarto-plus and cross-country co-authored papers are striking, as are the differences in citations per article and citations per author. There is evidence of an alphabetical ordering of authors as the standard in co-authored papers in top journals with no downward trend evident over time. A correlation between co-authorship and career stage is observed with young authors publishing significantly more solo-authored articles.

Suggested Citation

  • Lukas Kuld & John O’Hagan, 2018. "Rise of multi-authored papers in economics: Demise of the ‘lone star’ and why?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 114(3), pages 1207-1225, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:114:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-017-2588-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-017-2588-3
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Co-authorship ; Individual contribution; Academic economic research;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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